The near-field communication (NFC) protocol allows frames to be exchanged between items of equipment up to a distance of approximately 10 centimeters. This near-field communication technology is used in numerous sectors.
In particular, it is known to provide a near-field communication area in the proximity of a motor vehicle dashboard. The driver may bring a near-field communication appliance, such as a smartphone, a tablet or any other appliance equipped with an NFC module, close to this area, so as to establish a near-field communication between the appliance and a motor vehicle computer. This communication may serve for example to authorize starting of the motor vehicle via a secure smartphone, to perform pairing between the near-field communication appliance and the motor vehicle computer, this pairing making it possible to establish a Bluetooth connection in the passenger compartment, or for any other use.
As near-field communication has a short range in a motor vehicle, it is not easy for all of the passengers to have access to the near-field communication area. It is therefore necessary to provide a second near-field communication area in another location of the motor vehicle. Naturally, when a plurality of near-field communication areas are present, it is necessary to implement certain priority rules between the areas. In some cases, it must be impossible to use the second near-field communication area in the absence of an NFC appliance over the first near-field communication area.
The problem that is faced is therefore that of creating electronic circuits that make it possible to manage NFC communication simultaneously over a plurality of near-field communication areas and the priorities between the areas, while lowering costs as much as possible.
The problem of managing the priorities between the areas is particularly large in the specific case of a motor vehicle comprising a near-field communication area arranged in the proximity of the dashboard that enables starting of the motor vehicle and a second near-field communication area intended for telematic use. In this case, the device must prohibit the use of the second near-field communication area intended for telematic use when no NFC appliance is present in the proximity of the first near-field communication area that enables starting of the vehicle. In effect, this management of the priorities between areas makes it possible to ensure the safety of the passengers, and makes it possible to prevent the use of the second near-field communication area for telematic purposes when the motor vehicle has not been started, as this would risk draining the battery.
By way of example, the prior art implements a number of devices. Systems exist in which the two near-field communication areas each comprise an NFC antenna connected to a processing module, these two separate processing modules being connected to an on-board computer of the motor vehicle that manages the priorities between the areas. This system has the drawback of being very expensive; indeed, it requires the presence of two modules for processing the frames exchanged with the NFC antennae.